How Big Were The GED Test Changes Really?

In most states, the General Education Development (GED) examination was changed in 2014 and learners who have not completed the full examination by the end of that year, did see their scores not transferable anymore.

Roughly once every 10 years, the GED exam is updated because it is a high school equivalency test. That implies that the GED test-takers must meet up with the identical educative specifications as high school graduates would. Therefore it is a natural fact that the GED is changing according to high school curricula. Also, GED study materials need to change and many websites also upgraded their practice tests. So far, the website Best GED Classes is one of the best courses for GED preparation and they offer also great lesson plans!

In 2002 we saw the (2nd) latest update of the GED examination, and until 2014, there were a lot of people who were engaged in the 2002 GED exam version but hadn’t completed the test yet. They really needed to get themselves together and complete the examination before the end of that year, as their test scores would not be valid anymore after December 2013.

Probably the biggest change with the new 2014 GED exam, as compared to the old version, was that it is completely computer-based.
Together with having the capability to take the exam in Language Arts, Math, Science, and Social Studies, applicants must as well possess well-developed computer skills to type, for example, their essays.

Handwriting is no longer possible. Students must also know how to handle a mouse, how to use a drop-down box and how to copy-paste in a Word document. Teachers at GED preparation facilities must make sure that applicants are ready to apply those skills. For younger applicants, this will not be much of a jump, but it will be a struggle for some people who never had the chance to cultivate this kind of computer skills.

GED applicants cannot transfer their earlier accomplishments to the new examination. Their scores expired at the end of 2013, and students who did not pass all tests needed to start all over again in 2014. Students needed to make sure that they had finished off by December 2013 if they didn’t want to find themselves needing to begin again when their credit scores had run out.

In most US states, the GED examination changes have become effective in January 2014. These changes include, among others, how the GED exam is administered, the test costs, and what occurs with scores for parts of the examination.

The most important changes are the following: The GED is administrated only on computer, the number of tests was reduced from five to four, registration and test-scheduling must be done online, tests scores are instantly available, the price has gone up considerably, a lot of multiple-choice questions were replaced by essay-style questions, and keyboarding skills are required.